


RED: Resident Evil DOLLS

by LosttotheHoping



Category: DOLLS - naked ape, Devil May Cry, Resident Evil (Movieverse)
Genre: A few chapters in I think, DMC comes in later, F/F, F/M, Gen, Heavily RE verse, M/M, More DOLLS characters than any other, Shota and Igarashi are as per usual at each others throats, Usaki is slightly more emotional than in canon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-01
Updated: 2017-10-06
Packaged: 2019-01-07 20:06:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,194
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12239751
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LosttotheHoping/pseuds/LosttotheHoping
Summary: Shikibu Seiju wakes up a la Walking Dead to find the world in shambles.  Reunions are quick to come, but secrets hide beneath the surface.  Along with the infamous Alice, the crew tries their hardest to survive.





	1. Reemergence

**Author's Note:**

> Ummm.... Enjoy? This is an oldie, but I love it so.

Winter was in the air.  It was one of those mornings in late fall, when the world began to wake to the scent of frozen earth, and iced-over dead leaves scattered around

Except... everything was...  _ off _ .

Seiju walked slowly down the deserted street, staring around at the debris: cars crashed into street poles, severed limbs dotting the asphalt, stray bits of paper, or empty bullet casings.  His fingers tightened in their fist even as he jerked his arm to release the weight up his sleeve.

_ What’s happened here...? _  He frowned and lifted his free hand, tugging a cell phone out of his pocket.

He dialed, and waited with the receiver to his ear.  No answer.  Another number, with the same result.  Answering machine.  A third, his shoulders slumping, but then, “ _ Seiju?! _ ”

“Usagi-kun!” he gasped, voice low as he wandered away from the hospital parking lot.

“ _ You’re alive... where are you? _ ”

It was immediately apparent that, whatever had happened while Seiju was out of it, Usaki was... different.  More emotional.   _ How much time has passed? _

“Um, I’m... at the hospital.  Just outside it, actually.”  He quickly went over waking up in his bed to the deserted place, to finding his uniform in a bag that had been kicked under his hospital bed.  “And then I left the building.  Well, I looked for someone, but... no one was there.”

Usaki’s breath blasted over the receiver, and there was a tense murmur in the background on the other end.  “ _ Seiju.  He’s alive.  He...  yes _ ,” was the muffled report from the blond.  A pause, then Usaki was speaking to him again.  “ _ Can you get to HQ?  Taicho, Igarashi, and a few others are all here.  You’ll have to use the special entrance; we’re surrounded on all sides. _ ”

“Surrounded?!” Seiju yelped, as there was an indecipherable argument on the other end.  “Wai- by  _ who _ ?!”

“ _ Who?  What do you  _ **_mean_ ** _ , who?  The un _ -”

The only warning Seiju had was the soft sound of shuffling off to the side, just behind him.  He dropped the phone as he whirled, and the zombie pounced.

The metal weight left Seiju’s hand without conscious thought, tugging the razor wire along, until the creature’s head rolled on the ground.  He jerked his hand back, half planning on snatching the phone up again, but there was just no time.

The creatures were everywhere suddenly.  Decaying, hungry things, straight out of his worst nightmares.  All swarming together, seeking fresh meat a la Seiju.

He turned and ran; it was the only decision he could make, and ended up being the right one.  As he crested the hill he’d been running up, there was a loud, sound-barrier-breaching  _ kaboom! _ behind him.  Instinctively, he dove forward, feeling the hot burn against his skin as the air pressure tossed him along like a discarded doll.  He landed on a car, feeling a tell tale  _ pop _ in his dominant wrist.   _ Ow. _  He couldn’t see straight either; his head hurt (concussion, it must be).

“ _ C’mon!  Don’t just lay there! _ ” a feminine voice barked in English, with all the authority of any commander.

In reaction, he rolled off the car, stumbling when he reached his feet on the blacktop.  A small hand closed around his bicep and hauled him along without his consent.  Not that he really had enough sense at the moment to give it anyway.

They didn’t stop running for what seemed like forever.  Miles, probably.  He’d managed to shake off the dizziness by the time they did, only to be urged into the passenger’s seat of a truck.  He obeyed the insistent hands on his back, and climbed in.  The door slammed behind him, and he turned to watch the blonde foreigner circle the cab of the vehicle.

She got to the front tire before she had to turn and shoot at the encroaching zombies.  Seiju pulled his rarely-used pistol from the holster on his hip, scooting to the middle of the cab and leaning over to roll down the window.

Then he started picking them off, making sure to watch the doors and her back, until she was able to get in.  A brief scramble followed as she leaned down to hotwire the thing, before he snatched the keys out from the glove box and shoved them into her hand.

After a moment, they were plowing down zombies as they raced out.  “Where’s a safe place?” she demanded after a beat.

“It is not safe, but my unit is holed up at headquarters,” he responded, accent heavy.  It had been  _ years _ since he’d spoken English.

She shrugged.  “You have a way in, at least?”

“Yes.”

“Good enough.”

Twenty four minutes later, the two of them were pulling into an old, battered garage at a house that hadn’t been used in years.  Once inside, they slipped on silent feet through the deserted halls.  There wasn’t a zombie in sight; it was likely that  _ no one _ had bothered trying to find shelter in  _ this _ unsafe place.

_ Well, no one that didn’t know what was here _ , Seiju thought distantly as he lead the way to the basement.  The place had been ransacked, poorly, but there was no other damage, and no signs of life.

… until they were halfway through the room, and they heard growling from the stairs behind them.  Canine growling.

They barely got a chance to turn around when the dog gave a powerful leap.   _ BANG BANG BANG! _  Three shots came from behind them; the dog slammed against the wall with a wet clatter.

Seiju turned as his companion whipped around, her guns up.  “Usagi-kun!” he said in relief.

Like the sun breaking through the clouds on a rainy day, there was his partner; scuffed up and wearing a few new scars but otherwise in good health.  However, the blond man didn’t stop to return the greeting.  Instead, he stepped out of the opening he stood in, so they could pass through.

A false wall, leading to a steel trap door going downward.  The three of them cleared the entrance before the door was closed quietly in their wake.  “Sorry,” Usaki said finally, in Japanese, even as the woman heaved open the trapdoor.  “The sound may have attracted some of the undead.”

“It’s alright,” Seiju murmured warmly.

He patted his partner on the shoulder and followed his unnamed rescuer down the stairs.  Usaki closed the trap door and bolted it shut behind them.

Seiju dropped down to the floor and straightened to find himself beside the blonde foreigner; and not far away, Shota, aiming a gun at them.  “ _ Injuries _ ?” he demanded in English.

The surprised vice captain opened his mouth, but Usaki was already answering, even as he climbed the last few steps down.  “Just Seiju.  The woman appears unharmed.”  He nodded toward the blonde woman, who also had her gun out, though lowered.

Shota nodded and continued in the foreign tongue; probably so that their guest wouldn’t get nervous.  “ _ Sei, where’d you get the injuries? _ ”

Again, he was interrupted before he could respond, this time by the woman.  “Shock wave threw him around a bit,” she said, frowning at Shota.

“Oh for the love of- would you please both  _ stop _ it?  We’re all friends here,” Seiju said, reaching out and placing a hand on the woman’s bicep.

Usaki sighed and grasped his shoulder.  “It’s good to have you back,” he murmured while Shota reluctantly lowered his gun.

Seiju offered his partner a brilliant smile in response, and nodded.  “It’s good to  _ be _ back!” he chirped.  “Now... will someone please explain what’s happened?”

This earned him three alarmingly similar blank looks (though the stranger’s may have been because Seiju was speaking Japanese, admittedly).  “You don’t  _ know _ ?” Shota demanded, flabbergasted.

The fukutaicho shrugged helplessly.  “Um... no?”

“It’s-”

The booming from above, like horrible thunder, interrupted Shota’s words.  His expression turned grim.  “C’mon, let’s retreat into the main chamber.  We’ll explain more there, once Kenshin gets a look at you.”

Sighing, the long-haired male nodded and followed them away from the trap door.

Seiju had, apparently, gone missing.  At least, according to Shota and Usaki.  After they’d explained the zombies - Umbrella Corp, Apocalypse, et cetera - they had seen fit to drop  _ that _ nugget in his lap.

“We thought you were killed in the chaos,” Igarashi muttered irritably.  Clearly, this oversight was  _ not _ on his list of ‘good lessons today’.  “We were on that job when the zombie attacked- remember, Kenshin’s new intern was killed?  You got knocked around, so we brought you to the hospital.”

The vice captain just shrugged.  “I really don’t remember,” he admitted, and accepted a glass of water from Kenshin.  “Thank you.”

“Well, my best guess is someone got their hands on you,” Shota said.  “There’s just no other way you would have survived the first wave.  Though, why they placed you  _ back _ ... well, I don’t know.”

The blonde woman - still unnamed - cleared her throat, drawing their attention.  “ _ I’m Alice.  Nice to meet you.  And you guys are _ ...?” she asked pointely.

All of it in English, prompting a very confused look from Usaki.  Sheepishly, Seiju translated for his blond partner, before answering her.  “ _ Um, I’m Seiju Shikibu.  This is Todo Usaki, Shota Mikoshiba, and Sakyo Igarashi.  The brunet there _ ,” he nodded towards the nearest techie, “ _ is Kenshin Kashiwabara _ .”

His gaze shifted over the room, as he shifted black hair off his shoulder.  “ _ Where is everyone else _ ?”

“ _ Gone, or dead, _ ” Igarashi answered, frowning.  “ _ Aikawa and her team left a month ago, to seek out, and assist survivors.  We haven’t heard from any of them since _ .”

There was a long pause as they all sank into their own thoughts, before Alice spoke up again.  “ _ Maybe it’s time we find them, then _ ,” she declared.

xXx

Shota sidled up to the pretty foreigner, noting how she started to turn toward him; defensively.  “Alice, ne?” he asked, grinning down at her.

She blinked.  “You’re tall for a Jap.”

His smile fell.  That wasn’t the response he’d been hoping for.

“It’s amazing,” she added after a beat of awkward silence.  “You don’t even look awkward.  So... that’s good...”  Another pause.  “Erm.  So, did you need something?”

Sighing heavily, Shota turned and leaned up against the wall right beside her; she’d been washing her hands in the sink of the kitchen.  “Well, ‘coffee’s probably not an option, and ‘a movie’ just doesn’t fly these days.  But I’m sure we could still manage dinner.”  He grinned cheekily.

_ Blink _ .  Pale blue eyes widened.   _ Is he... asking... he’s  _ **_hitting_ ** _ on me! _

“What?” he yelped, when she stepped back and left without another word.  He ran after her.  “Wait- what did I- … say?”  When he’d gotten to the door, she was gone.  Dammit.

xXx

In the beginning, Rami had been all about the Tokkei sticking together.  However, as the days passed, and the pandemic spread to unresolvable levels, her opinion slowly shifted.

Just seeing the sheer amount of walking corpses had made her horribly sad.  How many more would fall to this virus?

So she approached Shota, outlined her thoughts, and her plans, and told him he could agree, or he could kiss her goodbye.  Shota didn’t agree, and was too angry at the time to do anything but watch her walk away.

It was just as well, she reasoned as she watched over her sleeping group.  She’d accomplished a lot in the months since she’d split ways with the rest of the Tokkei.  Since she’d decided to take matters into her own hands and go out to save whoever she could.

There were losses, of course, but that was to be expected.  She didn’t let it get her down.  (Or, at least, she didn’t let anyone else see her cry.)  She simply lifted her chin, sucked it up, and lead the survivors to safety.

Some stayed on to help.  Others decided they had business elsewhere.  Rami never forced anyone to stay, though occasionally she’d attempt to talk them out of leaving (in specific cases, where either children, or the aged, were involved).

In the end, probably the most disappointing thing about this whole bullshit apocalypse (if you ignored the constant death and danger), was that she couldn’t find anymore goddamn icecream.

_ I’m gonna die _ , she inwardly whined, tears pricking her eyes.  No sweets.  No  _ icecream _ .  She was going to end up  _ killing _ someone!

xXx

“Is all of this really necessary?” Todo muttered as he watched Igarashi and Shota yell at each other... across the room.  “They’re being so loud...”

“ _ Is he always that way? _ ”

The youngest Tokkei present blinked and turned to the blonde foreigner, Alice.  “... Huh?”

Blue eyes blinked back at him.  “ _ Oh.  Right.  No English. _ ”  She sighed.

He frowned; she was making no sense.

Seiju came over then, balancing a stack of prepackaged military rations.  He handed a couple over to Alice, and then Todo.  “Usagi-kun!” he greeted cheerfully, with the brightest smile the sword-user had seen on anyone in... quite a long time.

Without even meaning to, Todo found himself smiling back.  “Thank you,” he responded, quickly stifling the expression.

The taller male beamed again.  “No problem at all!  Ah, Alice-san,  _ how are you? _ ” he asked, switching to English midway through.

The blonde beside him shrugged.  “ _ I’m alright.  Thanks for the food... _ ”  She frowned and glanced at Todo, then Shota, looking thoughtful.  “ _ Seiju... can I ask you a favor? _ ”  At his curious nod, she looked down at the packages in her hands and sighed.  “ _ I don’t know Japanese... but it’s looking like I’ll be here a while. _ ”

“ _ You want me to teach you? _ ” Seiju said, looking delighted.

She opened her mouth, but they all paused when there was a crash over by Shota.  Igarashi let out an annoyed half-yell and started power-walking across the room.  The two of them got in each other’s faces, and began screaming at each other.

Seiju sighed and started to move to interrupt, but Todo’s hand on his shoulder stopped him.  The blue-eyed Tokkei agent blinked.  “Usagi-kun?”

“I’ve got it.  You go ahead and continue your conversation.”  He gave the shoulder a squeeze and reluctantly released the older man, before moving over towards the others.

“-believe you’re being this way, I’m just trying to prepare-”

“Yeah, well, thanks to you, preparations are BEHIND an hour!”

“I’M NOT THE ONE THAT DROPPED THE FUCKING CARGO, YOU BASTARD!”

“SHUT YOUR INSUBORDINATE MOUTH, IGAGURI!”

“IGARASHI!!!”

“DEGARASHI!”

The blond grabbed them both by their shoulders and dragged them apart before stepping between them.  “Enough.  Both of you,” he snapped.  “We don’t have time to listen to you two bicker like an old married couple.”

Igarashi’s mouth snapped shut and he paled, looking queasy at the thought.  Shota went cross eyed. Todo ignored their reactions and continued.  “Can we just hurry up?  If you two have to be separated again, I’ll let Seiju do it.”

Shota cringed at that, and shot a quick look toward their amnesiac partner.  He sighed.  “Yeah, yeah... alright.”  He looked amused suddenly, and ran a hand over Todo’s hair, mussing it up.  “Look at you, being all cute and leaderly and stuff...”

The blond’s glare could have probably melted glass.


	2. Retreat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Calamity strikes, and our heroes are forced to retreat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if it's a bit messy. I'm currently in the market for a beta. Any takers?

“That was a very very stupid thing.  What were you thinking?!” Saeki scolded, complete with a pointed finger waving in Rami’s face.

The blonde turned wide green eyes up at her partner.  “But... but... but the  _ candy _ !”

“THAT’S WHAT THIS WAS ABOUT?!” her partner screamed furiously.  “After everything- after- after-  FUCKING SUGAR!”

The blonde cringed back, eyes squeezing tight, when the darker-haired female lifted a hand.  But the contact she was expecting didn’t come, and she slowly relaxed.  One eye slid open, followed immediately by the other, as she took in Saeki’s tear-streaked face.

“Sa-Saeki?” Rami gasped.

Saeki Yoshino  _ sniffled _ and lifted a hand to rub the tears away.  But more flowed to replace them, and she gave up.  “I can’t... I can’t lose you too!” she hiccupped.  “Not after Ayane... not...  not you too...”

Helplessly, Rami stared at her friend and partner, unsure what to do or say to make this better.  After a moment, though, she opened the breast pocket on her jacket and tugged out her prize from her reckless trip into town.  “I’ll share it with you,” she offered, hesitantly.  She wasn’t sure what to expect from her unstable teammate right now.

As Saeki gaped at the chocolate, her tears slowly abated.  A beat passed, before she promptly burst into laughter and moved forward to sit down.  “I hate you,” she gasped, dropping her head onto her partner’s shoulder.  “I hate you, and I love you, all at once.”

“... is that a no?”

Saeki pinched her.

xXx

When Kenshin’s voice came over the ‘Talkie, everyone knew that shit was about to start hitting the fan.  “ _ Uh... guys... there’s... this thing... _ ”  A moment of crackling silence, and the next words were yelped into the receiver.  “ _ It’s got a giant ax!   _ **_It’s attacking the fucking doors_ ** _! _ ”  Indeed, in the background, they could hear the sounds of banging.

… actually, not just in the background, Shota noted as the floor shook a little.

“ _ Shit _ ,” Alice hissed, and took off for where Kenshin was posted as look-out.

Shota and Seiju raced after her, trusting Usaki to stay and finish packing with Igarashi.  The closer they got, the louder the sound of the assault rang in their ears.

Kenshin was standing in the doorway to the entrance room of HQ, looking like he’d much rather be elsewhere.  “Go back and help the others!” Shota barked at him, skidding to a stop.  He was obeyed without a single question.

Alice didn’t stop running when she hit the room, but instead ran through it, and up one wall, catching hold of the bottom ledge of a balcony hanging over it.  It had originally been part of the aesthetic appeal of the room, but the key to the door leading onto it had long since been lost, so it was basically useless now.

… unless you were a zombie-killing monkey woman, apparently.

Shota had no further time for thought, though, as the doors cracked, and smashed open at that moment.  Standing there was a monster; railroad spikes through its skull, a  _ massive _ ax, a potato sack obscuring its face, and many rippling, intimidating muscles.

“I’ve never wanted my mommy before now,” Shota grumbled, and opened fire at the same time as the other two.

The thing was dead silent as it went after them.  Seiju narrowly avoided getting chopped in half - twice - before Shota started shooting up its face, and Alice leaped off the balcony to land  _ on _ the fucking ax.  The monster seemed surprised a beat, before giving it a mighty heave, forcing the woman to do a backflip off.

By that time, Seiju had gotten to his feet, and threw out his hand toward Shota.  The brunet caught the weighted end of Seiju’s razor wire, and together, they raced forward, easily getting around the thing while Alice took some silent cue and distracted it.  The men met in the middle, and exchanged places; when they’d finally stopped, the monster was falling to the ground in a heap, cut in half.

Seiju retrieved his weight as the vibrations from the behemoth’s topple settled.  “That wasn’t so hard,” he commented.

“You forgot the zombies,” Alice replied.

“Zombies?” the men chorused, and turned to stare at the  _ open _ doors as zombies started pouring in.

Shota’s face fell.  “Aw shit...  Retreat!”

xXx

They got three steps.  Three, before they heard the sharp, painful sound of metal screeching against the floor.  All three of them skidded to a stop and whirled, watching in horror as another creature like the one they’d just killed walked through the door.

And picked up the fallen one’s ax.

“I knew that was too easy,” Seiju breathed in dread.

Like Shota’s own personal nightmare, the creature heaved one ax up, and started spinning it above his head.  “Oh  _ holy fucking shitsicle on a stick! _ ” Shota yelped, and grabbed Seiju by the arm as they made a mad dash for the hallway.

They were almost there when Alice caught both of their collars, and dragged them to the ground; the ax passed over them and demolished the doorway.  They were now cut off from the others, with that thing, and it was worse than the first one.

“Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit,” Seiju was gasping, close to hyperventilating as they scrambled to their feet and ran in the other direction.  It didn’t help that the thing was alarmingly fast, and there were regular zombies in the way.

Luckily, it stopped to grab the discarded ax out of the wall, causing still more destruction.

“Head for the lounge!” Shota yelled as they gunned down zombies while they ran.

Seiju grabbed Alice’s wrist without question, and hauled her toward the door they were quickly approaching.  Shota dashed past it as they disappeared, and stole a page from Alice’s book.

Up the wall he went, except he didn’t pause to grab hold of the railing.  Instead, he kicked off, just in time for the first ax to slam into the stone where he’d been seconds previously.  He twisted midair, avoiding the side-swipe of the second ax, and started firing right into the creature’s head as he flew.

He landed and rolled behind it, coming back to his feet and immediately starting to take out the nearest hungry zombies.

There was an ominous crack behind him, followed by a louder  _ crunch crunch thud _ , and Shota whirled.  The thing wasn’t dead yet, but his eye caught movement higher that gave him hope.  Alice stood on the balcony, the door to it kicked open, and scowled as she aimed the barrel of her shotgun at the monster.

“Duck!” she yelled.

Shota obeyed.

He was glad he had, when she fired; the creature’s head  _ exploded _ , and when one of the “bullet” fragments landed inches from his left hand, he gaped.  “ _ Coins _ !?” he yelped, rolling to his feet.  He started killing off more zombies without waiting for a reply.

It took him nearly ten minutes to make his way to the wall again, but he used the still-embedded ax, and the monster’s corpse, to help stair-climb his way up to the edge of the balcony.  Alice heaved him over, and gave him a smirk.  “It’s a hobby.”

He shook his head.  “That shouldn’t be  _ nearly _ as hot as it is.”

In response, the blonde rolled her eyes and turned.  “C’mon, let’s go meet up with the others.”

“Where’s Sei?” he asked as they went back through the door.

“He went back to them already,” she said.  “Something about that Usaki guy.”  She shook her head.

Shota grabbed her arm when she started to go down the west-facing hall, and dragged her in the opposite direction.  Slowly, the haunted sounds of too many zombies to count faded away.  “Where are we going?” she asked after a beat.

“Protocol,” he answered, and sighed.  “If the others end up split away from me during a crisis, they are to continue with standing plans and assume me dead.”  He smirked at her when she lifted a brow.  “Should I  _ not _ be dead, they are to trust that I’ll have the sense to meet up with them at the rendezvous point three miles South.  We’ll take the East exit.  Hopefully all the zombies are focused on trying to get in  _ here _ .”

Alice snorted.  “Well, at least those ax things destroyed the route to the others.”

A wide grin spread across his face at that.  “There you go!  A positive thinker, imagine that!”

“Oh shut up,” she muttered, and picked up the pace as he laughed at her.

xXx

“What the hell  _ are _ those things?” Saeki hissed as they hunkered down beneath an open window.

Rami scowled, irritated that they had to hide in the first place, and snuck a glance over the sill.  Then she ducked down again.  “I have no fucking clue.”  She hoped the others had escaped though.

An hour ago, their group had been packing up and preparing to move location, when this huge behemoth of a creature had suddenly bashed its way into their safezone.  Saeki, Rami, and a man they’d met named Ryo, had done their best to distract the thing while their resident medic Santino had ushered the rest of their group away.

“Have you seen Ryo since we lost him in the entertainment district?” Rami whispered after a minute.

Saeki shook her head, frowning.  “Unfortunately not.  Not a single sign of him.”

As if on cue, they heard a voice, a familiar scream, cut off abruptly midway through.  “Damn.  Looks like their grid search paid off,” Rami muttered, and peeked out the window again.

Her eyes widened in alarm when she saw one of the things standing just outside the house, ax pulled back and about to swing.  Without hesitation, Rami grabbed Saeki’s wrist, and dragged her the other way, even as the house shook with the force of the monster’s entrance.

“I hate these things!” Saeki complained as they ran.

They ducked out the back door and started sprinting for the fence blocking the way to the next residence.  “No shit!” Rami yelped, hearing another crash behind them.

Saeki dashed ahead, running up the side of the fence, and catching the lip before holding her hand out for the bustier blonde.  Rami got halfway up the fence before she grasped the offered hand, and they made their way into the other yard.

Behind them, they heard a third crash, and running, heavy feet.

_ We can’t do this alone, _ Rami thought in a panic as Saeki towed her to the right towards the gate.   _ We need to find  _ **_help_ ** _! _

“How far is the closest Tokkei rendezvous spot!?” Rami demanded of her partner.

“Five miles!” Saeki responded after a moment of thought, during which they made it out of the fence.  They ignored the hoards of zombies, cutting and gunning them down as they ran down the street.

Rami grimaced at the answer.  “Let’s ditch this guy and find a car.”

“You get the car, I’ll distract him,” Saeki replied.

The blonde nearly tripped, and Saeki had to kill a zombie that tried to get her.  “WHAT!?”

Her partner scoffed.  “I’m faster than you,” she responded.  “And you’re better at hotwiring vehicles.  Find one, and pick me up!  I’ll see if I can’t get rid of this thing.”

And then, to Rami’s horror, the taller woman darted off, calling to the creature running after them.  She successfully got its attention.

xXx

“C’mon, c’mon,” Rami muttered, locked inside a truck some ten minutes later.  She was crouched under the steering wheel, doing her best to start the fucking thing.   _ C’mon... _

She screamed when the back half of the truck was suddenly cleaved in half.  A glimpse proved her immediate horrified thought correct; another of those monsters had discovered her.

Now she had no way of getting out, no way of escape, no way to survive.   _ I’m going to die _ , she thought as the monster jerked at its hammer.  It was embedded pretty deeply in the ground beneath the bed of the truck.

_ LIKE HELL! _  Rami took the brief reprieve as it was handed to her, and scrambled out of the car just in time for the cab to be crushed.

She ran, but the monster was slightly faster.  It was nearly on her, had almost killed her twice, when she heard the familiar, comforting sound of gunfire.  The monster apparently decided the armed attackers were more of a threat than the fleeing busty chick, because it skidded to a stop and changed direction.

Rami slowed to a stop and glanced around, trying to spot her rescuer, but could see no one.  Though, the monster was heading toward a jeep on the other side of the intersection.

As she watched, an unfamiliar foreigner ran up a car, away from the monster, and then started car-hopping as it chased her.  Rami scowled and took a step, only for an arm to wrap around her waist and drag her back against an alarmingly familiar chest.  “You’re safe,” his voice breathed in her ear.

The woman went stiff, even as Shota gunned down a few nearby zombies.

… which, by the way, had attracted the monster’s attention again.  Two targets equals more important.  “SHIT!” Rami yelped, and elbowed Shota in the gut to get him to release her.  “You IDIOT!”

She got five steps away before realizing he wasn’t following.  No, instead, her fearless, idiotic General Captain was  _ waiting _ for the fucking homicidal monster to  _ get to him _ .  “Sho-Shota!  No, run!” she yelled.

“I’ve got this!” he retorted.  “Go!  Get to the rendezvous point,  _ now _ !  That’s an order!”

_ You fucking sexist, irritating, offensive, egomaniacal, excuse for a pig, _ she mentally ranted, but her legs were already moving to obey the command.

Only a second passed before she changed her mind, and went after another vehicle.  This one, luckily, started more easily, and she went to find Saeki.   _ I can’t lose her now _ .

Not when it most mattered.

xXx

Once Rami was out of sight, Shota shot his last three bullets at the thing, even as he took off running in the other direction.   _ Need to find a new weapon _ .  He shoved his gun into the holster on his hip, making an additional mental note to get more friggin’ ammo.  Which meant he needed to get to the rendezvous point pretty fast.

“SHOTA!” a voice shouted, and he laughed loudly at the accompanying sound of a motor bike.  “Get on!”

He didn’t hesitate, taking two steps left and latching onto the seat before swinging himself on behind Alice.  Behind them, the monster was catching up, swinging his ax.  Alice hit the gas, barely avoiding what would have turned them into incarnadine flesh-chunks in the road.

“Where’d your friend go?” she demanded as they pulled ahead of the creature.

He’d curled his arms tightly around her waist, but loosened them enough to turn and glance back.  “Rami?  I told her to go to the rendezvous point.”

There was a beat as she seemed to accept that, before, “... is she the type to listen?”

His silence was enough, and she turned around.

xXx

It took a bit of maneuvering, and her sword, but Saeki somehow managed to destroy her pursuer.  Starting with disemboweling, and ending with beheading.

In the end, she was standing over the corpse, battling off the swarming zombies, when a tiny Sedan started running the things over.  It came to a stop beside her, and she jerked open the passenger’s side door after killing a couple more zombies.

When she slid inside, she was unsurprised to find her partner already moving the shifts.  “What took you so long?” she asked as Rami hit the gas.

“Another one of those things showed up,” the blonde responded irritably.  “Nearly got me, until Shota and some woman showed up.”

“Taicho?”  Saeki gaped at her.  “But I thought they were taking refuge back in HQ?”

Rami just offered a shrug.  “Our orders are to move to the nearest rendezvous point.  I assume his team is  _ there _ .”

Saeki sighed as she put on her seatbelt.  “What about Santino and the others?” she asked, referring to their own group.

Pursing her lips, the bustier woman took a moment to answer.  “We’ll worry about that once we have a down minute to think.  First, we have to figure out what the hell to do.  Santino’s smart.  He’ll keep the crowd safe.”

There was another brief silence as Saeki considered this.  “I hope you’re right,” she finally said.

xXx

“This... is not a good sign, is it?” Seiju murmured, staring at the ‘rendezvous spot’ from their vantage point on the roof of a nearby building.

Usaki was frowning as he peered through a set of binoculars, at the zombies clumped around it.  “I think it’s safe to say that we need to find a new rendezvous location.”

His partner winced when he caught sight of two of those giant zombies, rending their way through the mass of smaller undead.  “How many of those things are in the city?” he breathed, alarmed.  More importantly, how many of them had killed people tonight alone?

“I don’t know,” Usaki said, lowering the binoculars and heading off to the other side of the building.

Seiju followed him, wondering what the blond was up to.  “What do we do?” he murmured, then answered his own question with, “We need to regroup with Sho-kun and Alice-san, not to mention finding Aikawa-san.”

Usaki glanced back at him, before holding the goggles out to him wordlessly.  Curious, Seiju accepted them and followed the direction of Usaki’s finger.  Several seconds ticked by before he found them; Alice and Shota on a bike.

To his alarm, they were being rather reckless in dealing with the giant running after them...  “There’s another vehicle,” he said, catching sight of a car heading toward the rendezvous point.  “Usagi-kun, do you have a walkie?”

The blond nodded when his partner turned to look at him, and took the ‘Talkie offered.  He put it up to his mouth and depressed the button as Usaki took the binoculars back.  “Calling all Tokkei agents; this is General Vice Captain Shikibu Seiju.  The primary rendezvous point at La Locale is not safe.  Repeat, the primary rendezvous point at La Locale is  _ not safe _ .  Do not approach.  Do not enter.  Over.”

There was a few breathless moments during which he heard no response, but then a familiar voice piped up.  “ _ This is Saeki Yoshino, Second Brigade Vice Captain.  Orders confirmed, heading to secondary rendezvous point.  Over. _ ”

A beat, and Usaki scoffed.  “Taicho’s pursuer is dead.”

“ _ Shhht.  Tokkei General Captain Mikoshiba here.  Shikibu, you need to find out if there is anyone trapped in La Locale.  The zombies only swarm when there are people around.  Over. _ ”

Seiju gave Usaki a faint smile when his partner looked at him.  “Confirmed, Taicho.  Usaki and I will head in, and send Igarashi and the others to the secondary rendezvous point.  Over.”

“ _ Confirmed.  We’ll be heading to back you up.  Aikawa, you’re charged with the protection of the others until we return.  Over. _ ”

“ _ Orders confirmed- she’s driving.  Over, _ ” Saeki responded.

Seiju waited a beat for any further communication, but when only silence followed, handed the Walkie-Talkie back to his partner.  “Well, now that  _ that’s _ decided...  We have orders.  Let’s relay them to Igarashi.”

xXx

Getting in was the easy part.  All it took was creeping through the sewers and entering via a trap door in the basement.  It was the searching without getting seen by zombies trying to get into the resort that was the issue.

Also, the big monsters trying to break down the doors on two separate sides.

“C’mon,” Seiju murmured to his companion as they entered the first floor.  “Quick check, then move up.  We’re on a schedule here.”

Usaki nodded, and they split up, meeting back at the stairs five minutes later, both empty handed.  “Nothing?” the blond asked, and sighed when Seiju answered.

“Up, then,” the vice captain declared, and they made their way up the stairs.

Upon reaching the second floor, however, Seiju kind of wished they hadn’t even bothered.

“Well, well,” a soft, irritatingly familiar voice drawled.  “Look what we have here.  The scourge of the Tokkei.”

Usaki had his sword out as soon as they heard a series of clicks.  “Kamijo-taicho, stand down,” the blond demanded, expression darkening.

Kamijo laughed from the shadows.  “Now, that’s no way to address a superior.”

Frowning, Seiju reached out and placed a hand on Usaki’s shoulder.  “And  _ as _ your superior, Kamijo, I order you to stand down.”

A beat of silence followed, before there was a scoff.  “What are you doing here?  You lead the enemy to this place.”

“The undead were already swarming when we arrived,” Usaki bit out.  “That would be  _ your _ fault.”

“Shut your insubordinate mouth, Usaki!” Kagami’s voice spoke up.  “We’ve just been trying to survive, same as you.”

Kamijo huffed.  “Enough, both of you.  Where’s Mikoshiba?”

xXx

“ _ General Vice Captain Shikibu to General Captain Mikoshiba.  Over. _ ”

_ Now what? _ Shota thought irritably as he tugged off his walkie.  “This is Mikoshiba.  What’s going on?  Over.”

“ _ Backup not needed.  We have retrieved the survivors hiding in La Locale, and are en route to the secondary rendezvous point.  Over. _ ”

Alice drew to a stop on the side of the road.  “Good thing we hadn’t got there,” she drawled.  “Where to?”

He waved a hand in the direction of the moon hanging high above the east side of the city.  “That way.  Secondary point is a mansion on the outskirts of town.”  He pushed the talk button.  “Affirmative.  We will meet you there.  Over.”

Changing her route, Alice hummed softly to herself.  “Let’s hope we don’t run into anymore of those... things.”

Shota smirked and opened his mouth, when Seiju responded.  “ _ Alright, sir...  You should know, though.  It’s Kamijo and his partners.  Over. _ ”

Smirk falling away, Shota lifted the Talkie.  “Confirmed.  We’ll discuss this further when we’ve met up.  Over.”

“ _ Yes sir.  Over. _ ”

Alice chuckled as she cut into a corner that forced Shota to tighten his one-armed grip.  “Don’t forget to give me directions.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comment?

**Author's Note:**

> Comment pls!


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